1,2,3,4,5,6,9 & 10, Money Can't Buy You Back the Love You Had Then
by Brittani Is Batman
Summary: Inspired by many love songs, a Thea/Tommy story! Originally planned as a one-shot, but it just feels like it needs more chapters to me. Title is based on the song "1,2,3,4" by Feist. Reviews & Constructive Criticism is always requested! Starts 1x16, no episodes happen otherwise though I may mention like the villains from episodes or use themes and stuff.
1. Chapter 1

_You're beautiful  
Every little piece, love.  
_-Taylor Swift, Stay Beautiful

**Chapter 1**

Tommy was walking down the hall, leaving after a visit with Oliver, when he heard a cry coming from Thea's room.  
"Thea?" he asked, pushing the door open slightly.  
Thea flew towards the door, stopping him from opening it. He felt her weight push against it, trying to shut it, but Tommy was strong enough to keep it cracked.  
"Thea, what's wrong?" he asked. He had been around Thea for so many years, he felt like she was his own sister, and he wanted to be there for her.  
"N-nothing I'm f-fine," Thea said. She was clearly lying, and Tommy could hear her sniffing through her tears.  
"Thea, open the door, or I'll go get Oliver," Tommy demanded. It was an empty threat; if she had left the door closed, he would have continued pleading with her, but not have gone for Oliver. He didn't know why, but he didn't need to think on it any farther, because the door pulled open.  
Thea's face was tear stained, and her eyes were puffy and red. Mascara streamed around her eyes, and she looked like she could break down in tears again any second, but she held it in for Tommy.  
"What?" she asked him. "Go away."  
"Thea," Tommy started. "What's going on? You're not in here taking drugs again, are you?"  
"DO YOU THINK I'D BE CRYING IF I WAS?!" Thea yelled.  
"Calm down," Tommy whispered. "Thea, what's going on?"  
Thea opened her mouth to speak, but instead, she found herself in Tommy's arms. Tommy was slightly taken aback, but he hugged her all the same, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. He heard Moira's footsteps and pulled Thea into her bedroom, shutting the door, knowing Thea didn't want to deal with her family right now.  
"Shh...Thea, you can tell me what's wrong," Tommy promised. "I won't tell Oliver or your mom."  
Thea pushed away from Tommy slightly, so she could look him in the eyes, but not far enough for him to remove his arms.  
"I'm sick of this, Tommy," she said.  
"Of what?" he asked, confused.  
"This...everything. Where they think they can keep secrets, and lies, and never let me in! I know Oliver's hiding something, ever since he came back from the island he's been so different, and it isn't fair, okay? I hate it," Thea said, her eyes still leaking the salty tears. "Mom's keeping secrets too, and I want to know what's going on. I want to know what they know about Walter."  
"There's something else, isn't there?" Tommy asked.  
He knew Thea had a curiosity that could get her killed one day, but he also knew she wasn't the kind of person to cry over secrets.  
"It's nothing," she replied.  
"Thea."  
"Do you think I'm pretty, Tommy?"  
"You are not going all insecure on me, are you?"  
"Tommy."  
"Thea, why would you even ask me that?"  
"So I'm not?"  
Tommy gave her a grin and touched her cheek.  
"I've always thought you're beautiful," he told her. "Every little piece of you."  
"Always?" she asked.  
"Always. Ever since you were like seven," Tommy admitted. "You were the cutest kid ever."  
"No, not like that, Tommy!" Thea sighed, pulling out of his arms and walking back to the window, her hand running through her curly hair.  
"What do you mean?" Tommy questioned, taken aback.  
"Not like...little sister pretty! I'm asking if you think I'm _pretty_," Thea said, exasperated. She turned around to face him, her eyes still watering and the tear tracks still glistening on her face.  
"Thea," Tommy said. "What are you asking me?"  
Thea closed her eyes and half-smiled, bitterly.  
"Get out, Tommy," she said. "I can't deal with you right now."  
"Thea," Tommy said. "You are a beautiful young woman."  
"But you don't think of me like that? Yeah, that's what everyone says, unless I let them in my bed like Shane, and Oliver had to come ruin that!" Thea snapped.  
"Thea," Tommy whispered, approaching Thea and touching her cheek. She looked away from him, but he gently pushed her head back to looking him in the eye. "Stay beautiful, okay? Because somebody as beautiful, inside and out, like you, shouldn't toss that away. I'll get out of your hair."  
He turned around and was out the door, when Thea said, quietly, "Tommy?"  
"Yeah," he replied, turning slightly to see her, his hand still on the doorknob.  
"Don't tell Oliver you talked to me?"  
"Sure."


	2. Chapter 2

_Keep Holding On,_  
_Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through,_  
_Just Stay Strong,_  
_Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you._  
-Avril Lavigne, Keep Holding On

**Chapter 2**

Thea could remember when they first heard about the Queen's Gambit sinking. It had been like her whole world had fallen.  
Moira had left her in her room, crying into her pillow. They'd gone to dinners in Oliver and their father's honor.  
She saw Laurel at one, and they silently acknowledged that they were both hurting. Laurel had lost her boyfriend and her sister, Thea had lost her brother and father. They were silent and moved on.  
At one particular dinner, though, at the Merlyn's house, Thea just had enough of it all together.  
"I am sorry to hear of your lose, Moira," Mr. Merlyn said, taking a sip of champagne.  
"Thank you for your concern, Malcolm," Moira replied, the same sad look on her face, which she had bore for the few weeks since the accident.  
_Way to start a conversation,_ Thea thought. _Go straight for shoving it down everybody's throats that there was just a funeral. Except there wasn't a funeral, because we don't have bodies..._  
Thea stifled a sob.  
"Thea, are you okay?" Moira asked.  
"Um..." Thea said, uncomfortably. "Could I use the bathroom, please?"  
Mr. Merlyn nodded. "First door on your left."  
Thea nodded and grabbed her purse before she walked out of the room. She went to the bathroom and locked the door, before sliding down the wall and crying.  
Oliver was dead. Her father was dead. She was left alone in a big house with nobody but her mother for company.  
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. How long had she been in there crying?  
"Um...just a minute!" she yelled, going to the sink and trying to wipe the streaking mascara, which she caked onto her lashes to make her look older, off her face.  
"Thea, it's just me," Tommy's voice said. "You've been in here a while, your mom asked me to check on you."  
"Oh? If I've been in here a while, I'm surprised you're still sober," Thea retaliated.  
"Olly was the heavy drinker, Thea, not me," Tommy admitted. "Are you okay? You sound like you've been crying."  
Thea unlocked the door and pulled it open. "I miss him, Tommy."  
Tommy sighed, looking at Thea's beautiful, mascara-streaked face.  
"I miss him, too," he admitted. "Do you need a hug or something?"  
Thea nodded and wrapped her arms around Tommy's middle. It was sort of an awkward hug. Tommy was so much older than her, and she was just a kid, but she felt warm in his arms.  
He broke away from her and half-smiled. "You should do something about the raccoon eyes, here, let me help you."  
He pulled her into the bathroom and grabbed a towel, wetting it with cold water.  
"Hold you hair back," he instructed. When Thea obeyed, he pressed the cold towel to her face, wiping away the tear stains and make-up.  
"There," he said, removing the towel, which held traces of the make-up, and allowing Thea to let her hair fall back around her face. He tossed the towel down the laundry shoot and brushed a piece of hair out of Thea face. "You look even prettier than when you had the make-up on."  
Thea grabbed her small purse and pulled a bottle of mascara out.  
"Mom'll notice I was crying," she whispered, starting to untwist the cap, but her hands were shaking.  
"I'll do it," Tommy told her, taking the bottle. He dipped the wand in the bottle and started putting it on Thea's eyelashes.  
"Why do you know how to do this?" Thea questioned.  
"Ex-girlfriend, long story," Tommy replied. "I can do it on myself, too."  
Thea laughed at that.  
"Hey, no moving!" Tommy snapped with a grin. "You'll end up with it in your eyebrow."  
Thea smiled. "Well, I would have you to blame for that."  
Tommy twisted the cap back on the mascara and handed it to Thea.  
"We should get back, before we're missed," he said. "If you need to talk, Thea, I'm here for you. You are...were, my best friend's sister."  
Thea tucked the mascara back in her bag. "Yeah..."  
Tommy left the bathroom. _She's thirteen,_ he reminded himself. _She's Oliver's sister. She's thirteen._


	3. Chapter 3

_I feel so untouched, right now_  
_Need you so much, somehow_  
_I can't forget you._  
_I'm going crazy from the moment I met you._  
_Untouched,and I need you so much._  
-The Veronicas, Untouched

**Chapter 3**

Tommy stepped into the club and gave Oliver a look. They hadn't been talking much lately since Tommy found out Oliver's secret.  
"Tommy..." Oliver started, but Tommy cut him off.  
"We don't need to talk about it," he said simply.  
"Let me explain, Tommy, please-"  
"Oliver. You tried to explain yesterday, I'm not listening. You saved my father, and I thank you for that, but let's just drop it," Tommy cut him off.  
He was curious, sure, but his best friend was a murderer. How was he going to justify that?  
Oliver sighed and turned away, disappearing into a different room.

* * *

The re-opening of the club that night was noisy and crowded.  
Tommy was making his way through the crowd when he caught site of Thea. She looked amazing. She had her arm linked through some guy's.  
"Tommy!" she said happily, skipping over to him, her hand holding onto the guy's. "Tommy, this is Roy Harper. Roy, Tommy Merlyn."  
"Hey there, Tommy," Roy said, looking kind of awkward.  
Thea was smiling at Tommy, and Tommy had a curious look on his face.  
"Is this the...hoodlum that Laurel told me about?" he asked.  
"He isn't a hoodlum," Thea snapped. "He's...going to have honest work soon...I was wondering if you could give him a job, since you know...you run this place pretty much?"  
"What? Thea..." Roy muttered.  
"Of course, anything for you," Tommy replied.  
Roy gave Thea a dirty look and turned to walk away.  
"W-what was that?" Tommy asked.  
Thea looked after Roy and then back at Tommy.  
"It's a long story...I'll be right back," Thea said. She followed Roy out of the room, onto the stairs to the roof.  
"What is wrong with you?" Thea asked, punching Roy in the shoulder.  
"I don't want a job in your brother's club, Thea," Roy replied. "I'm perfectly fine where I'm at."  
"I'm trying to help, Roy!" Thea snapped.  
"Why?" Roy snapped back.  
"Because...because I care about you!" Thea whispered.  
And it was true, she did care about him. But as she felt his lips suddenly press to her's and her back press against the door, she realized that something was...off. This wasn't how she had imagined the kiss.  
And then the door pulled open and they landed on the floor. Somebody gasped, and somebody wolf whistled. Oliver appeared seemingly out of nowhere and pulled Roy off of Thea.  
"Get out of here," he told Roy.  
"Olly!" Thea protested, but Roy was already leaving.  
"If you want to have a boy screw you, go do it somewhere there aren't cameras and news people, Speedy," Oliver whispered, pulling Thea to her feet.. "You just got out of trouble for your drugs, you don't need them to find more dirt to throw on you."  
Oliver walked off, talking to a reporter, probably about deleting pictures from his camera.  
Tommy watched it all. His thoughts racing.  
_That could be me_, he thought. _But I told her no...  
_ It wasn't that he hated Roy and wanted Thea to come back to giving him puppy dog eyes-he was happy if Thea was happy-but he felt like that should be him who was hiding in the stairway with Thea.  
Thea ran a hand through her hair, and caught Tommy's eye. She didn't know what he was thinking as he turned away, but she assumed it was something awful about her, though it was truly just the opposite.


	4. Chapter 4

_On Christmas morning, outside was pouring, all was hopeless in this home.  
And no one's speaking, no one creeping to see if she was on the phone.  
And you were quiet, this routine riot was all but practical to me.  
And if we see it, why can't we beat it?  
Can we let each other be?_

-Something Corporate, Forget December

**Chapter 4**

Tommy knew he shouldn't think of her the way he did. She was Olly's sister, for starters, and he really didn't want Oliver putting an arrow in his heart. Then there was the fact that she was a good eight years younger, and Laurel.

_Laurel_.

What would he tell her? Oh, sorry, I can't stop thinking of Oliver's sister?

Of course, she didn't _have_ to know about Thea…But, no, he couldn't fool them. They worked together, after all.

But he _had_ to see Thea. He had to know if whatever she used to feel for him was still there, or if she had given it to Roy.

He knew he was welcome in the Queen's home. He didn't even knock. He just put in his key and walked upstairs to find Thea.

"Tommy?" she asked, as he cracked open her door. She set down her hairbrush and stood up. "What're you doing here?"

"You and Roy last night…that was…surprising," Tommy said, simply.

"It was Roy's idea. He knew I was thinking of somebody else, and he thought he'd help loosen my mind," Thea replied. "And my lips."

"Good method," Tommy replied, quietly. He traced his finger along the spines of some of Thea's books. Thea walked over to the door and closed it.

"What're you doing here, Tommy," she repeated.

"I wanted to see you," he replied.

"See me?" Thea questioned.

"Yeah."

Thea moved closer. "How much of me?"

"Slow down, Thea," Tommy replied, but Thea had gotten the message and was already touching him, her lips edging towards his.

"Mom isn't home until tomorrow."

"Thea…"

Thea pecked him on the lips. "Olly doesn't bother me."

"Thea…"

"Tommy."

Tommy smiled, and let Thea press into him.

"Not that far, though, Thea," he whispered, stopping her from unbuttoning his shirt.

* * *

The next morning, Thea called Tommy first thing.

"Hello?"

"Tommy?"

"Yeah…"

"You were gone when I woke up."

"Thea?"

"In the flesh."

"The very sexy flesh…" Tommy muttered.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing. Look, I'm sorry about leaving. But you fell asleep, and…Laurel called me."

"Tommy…"

"I _will_ break up with her, Thea. Give me time, though," Tommy paused as Laurel walked in, smiling. "Give me a week, and I'm all yours." He hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Laurel asked.

"Oliver. He's a little preoccupied. Needs some help at the club," Tommy lied.

"Well, I have to get to work, and it looks like you need to as well."

"Indeed."


End file.
